Future Senran Kagura Games Could See Physical Release, Says Xseed

Recently, Xseed stated that Senran Kagura Burst, released via the Nintendo eShop for 3DS, has “sold well enough” for the publisher to consider localizing other games in the series. Additionally, Xseed have also said that they would be willing to consider a retail release for future Senran Kagura games, should they release them.

In reply to a Facebook user asking if it would be possible for Senran Kagura Burst to see a limited physical release, an Xseed representative stated, “Unfortunately, no. Once a title is released as digital-only, we really can’t go back and make a physical version. Good news is that if a digital-only title is successful enough, it greatly helps the chances of a future iteration of that series getting a physical release.”

In reply to another Facebook user, Xseed stated that they would also consider a physical release for the PlayStation Vita Kagura game, Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus, were they to publish that in North America.

“A physical release wouldn’t be out of the question for [Shinovi Versus] if we did it, but unfortunately it’s too late for us to go back and redo Burst,” Xseed said.

“For all the people that supported Burst with an eShop purchase, we really appreciate it. The ‘no package no buy’ reasoning really doesn’t work because in this case the eShop release could be considered almost a ‘proof of concept’ where we prove to the retailers (and ourselves) that there’s a market for this series, which in turn gives us much more clout when trying to convince retailers to stock a physical release in the future because we have hard eShop sales numbers to prove it can sell.”

Yes please, I would like to get my hands on some physical Life and Hometown!

Kaien

Fondle-ism, ho!

I’m glad Xseed is having success with ultra-niche games.

http://www.carpefulgur.com SpaceDrake

I cannot possibly approve of that avatar more, fwiw.

Learii

I would love that

Firion Hope

I really want physical editions of this game, especially if we get boxarts like the UK one or the planned one that got scrapped, it was amazing. I can understand them going only digital at first but I really hope they do physical in the future since the series is obviously pretty popular

nonscpo

Yes…yes…Yeah, Im so glad to read this news. Im usually very anti-digital but for this game I made an exception and Im glad I did.

J_Joestar

same here, great to see the goodwill shown towards them may bear results.

하세요

I’m down for that. I already walk around with a Pokeball hat and a sweater that says “Keep Calm and Play Final Fantasy.”

You think buying a game with tits on it is gonna “embarrass” me?

TheGioG

This right here. Looking any snide store clerk right in the eye with the damnedest poker-face, and letting them know not a single damn is given about their opinions as to why you’re buying this.
Seriously though, hope your game store clerks are cooler than that.

하세요

Mine always compliment the hat xD I have pretty chill ones open to all genres. Few of them are the average CoD/EA Sports American gamer, but my gf is usually with me when I go to these stores so they certainly can’t pull the “you’ll get no girls playing games like this” card.

Brimfyre

It was news to me that people were embarrassed to buy Bravely Default because of Airy’s short dress on the cover.

What about Medabots DUAL from Rocket Company, this game in USA will sell a lot =D

Renaldi Saputra

Unfortunately from what I’ve seen, many old Medarot fans in US are apathetic, they only said “we want it to the west” without struggling into it (for example making an account in XSeed forum and give a request for them), or they just hear but didn’t care except the anime/toys. It’s not that they won’t buy the game, if they one day see the new game, they mostly will buy for “nostalgia”, but, well, as I said before, they only want to wait instead of sharing the campaign or telling XSeed in the forum..

That’s very sad indeed

XSeed only will localize the game they want, especially if many ppl post requests in their forum, not from the expectation whether it will sell well or not. Medarot is gonna sell well in USA indeed, only many fans aren’t aware and aren’t struggling for it

Tsurugi

Already sent them an e-mail but no answer yet

Renaldi Saputra

nah, it proves that they, medarot fans are apathetic about it
I’ve been sharing it on facebook pages many many times but still no satisfied answer

Micrll

Sweet, I am all for having both as they both have their advantages and disadvantages. Physical copies can go on sale more often, be traded / sold or just simply put on a shelf when done for collecting purposes. Digital has the convenience factor and the fact that there is no limit to the number of copies, so we don’t have the problem of hard to get limited releases if you simply want to play the game.

sunK1D

How about localizing SV already??..

Brimfyre

The thing I love about XSEED is they don’t give any BS. If there are no plans to localize something, they will tell you. So when they say there is a chance it might be localized that actually means there is a really good chance it is getting localized.

Death Metal

More or less. Even though they seem to be in a good will mood right now, I just don’t give them that much credit because their current repertoire of public messages still look like a politician’s speech at best. I’m sure they know that their fans are very much interested in Shinovi Versus, so why not be a little more straightforward about that? “We’re open to localizing other games in the series” doesn’t mean a lot right now. Does that mean we are getting SV? Does that mean they are passing SV and waiting for another game in the series? Which entries are they talking about? Something like “We are working on bringing SV for you/are not working on bring SV because of ‘X’ factor”, etc. would be a much better signal of what to expect. I stillvthank them for the “news”, but at the moment that doesn’t mean much if the next game is only going to come out 2 years from now.

Pyrofrost

Limited Oppai Collectors Edition incoming!

http://www.segalization.com/ Kuronoa

I guess I”ll get Shinovi Versus when you localize it, then wait for a sale with Burst. I just don’t like the lack of account system.

http://epiclyamazing.wordpress.com/ AzureNova

Look at that. I really love Xseed and their staff for working hard to bring us these games, and sharing information like this. I’m really glad to know that Senran Kagura Burst sold well, and happy that I was part of it too. You can bet that I will be pre-ordering and day onening the next game in the series. Especially if its a physical and or Limited/Collector’s Edition.

Michael Richardson

Awesome. Part of me was really jealous about us Americans not getting a physical release of Burst. I would adore a physical copy of Shinovi Vs. and/or Burst 2.

I’ll definitely support a Liimited Edition if they release one.

Kayriss Wins

I might be pushing my luck here but I would LOVE for them to release a limited edition version of Vs. with those cute figures.

324234

I’d really regret paying $100 importing my LE. I figured even if it got localized I could justify it for the figures..oops! The figures are amazing though, really high quality, sturdy, and nice looking. Can’t believe we get stuff like Bravely Default’s.

Kayriss Wins

If you already imported then all you’d have to do is buy a regular edition of the game, If I get lucky enough to just find the figurines by there self somewhere I’d just buy those (cuz that’s all I really want besides the game) then I’d get get the localized version of this game when/if it gets released here.

Kumiko Akimoto

So everyone who said they’d just import because there’s no physical release shame shame shame.

dahuuuundge

One of the times where voting with your wallet works

idrawrobots

I would really recommend Xseed and every localizer to implement a kickstarter like program where they can up front gauge intrest so pay for things like a physical release, and dubbing.

Oltheros

Kick starter isn’t really a professional platform.

idrawrobots

I don’t think that is true, but they could do it on Xseed’s site. Plus they already have a store front.

wyrdwad

Kickstarter isn’t really an option for us. We’ve addressed it once before in a Wired interview:

In addition, while we do have a storefront, we’re not equipped for dealing with bulk orders. That’s why you only ever see us selling older titles there — we basically use it to sell off overstock. And we have no dedicated staff working on it, so there’s a good chance that if you’ve ever ordered something from us, it may have been packed and shipped to you by the executive vice president of the company himself.

It’s either him or our production assistant handling everything. ;)

idrawrobots

Wow, thanks for the reply. As an insatiable fan of Xseed I do appreciate all you do. How else would I have ever gotten Flower Sun & Rain, and Beyond the Yellow Brick Road.

324234

As anti-digital as I am, I was considering making an exception for Senran Kagura up until the point I read EU would get physical copies. Speaking of which, that prototype box was really something.

하세요

The amount of pink it in really gives a feminine vibe, as if it were targeted for girls only. It’s nice art, but I don’t think it would’ve drawn in the proper audience. Tits with a ninja scroll screams “This may be dirty, but there are ninjas involved!”

This art makes me think it’s some fashion dress-up game.

Audie Bakerson

I remember reading (think it was part of an article on the cost of making the physical copies is of a game’s price, not sure) that part of the reason box sizes have gone done (the other being how it lowers costs to make/ship) is retailers stats show that pretty much everyone looking to buy video games knows what they are buying when they go into the store.

For this reason, I don’t think cover art for marketing reasons is such a big deal.

하세요

Maybe for opening day / week sales for a game, but overtime there are many folks out there that do not camp on the internet looking up these games and can easily overlook it if the box art looks like Barbie’s Dream Dress Up Suite 3.

If they are, then I’ll totally buy them. Digital only was probably the main reason I didn’t get Burst. Just don’t pull that box art thing you did with Europe. I have enough grief about buying these games without a putting a label on my forehead.

Death Metal

Come on. If you’re going to be ashamed of something you like, you’d better forget it than be ashamed. I’d have no shame at all of buying a game with that European cover of SKB; nobody has anything to do with my life or tastes or anything I consume. If someone is disturbed by a product I purchase, then they’d better start paying my taxes as well, that’s the only way they’ll ever have a right to say anything about me.

X_Bacon

“A physical release wouldn’t be out of the question for [Shinovi Versus] if we did it”

>if we did it
C’mon guys, we all know already you’re doing it.
…You ARE doing it, right?

http://www.carpefulgur.com SpaceDrake

There really are a LOT more barriers to releasing “niche” games physically than many players realize. Not only are “card-based” games on handhelds monstrously more expensive to manufacture than disc-based games, but getting retailers to actually buy in with some stock can be a struggle – there’s still a feeling that some of these games actually turn more customers *away* than they bring people in. Which there isn’t really any evidence for aside from anecdotes and plenty of actual evidence against, but.

So yeah, please be patient with this sort of thing in general, from any publisher. It’s harder than it looks, especially these days.

bVork

My problem isn’t with digital in general, it’s with Nintendo’s stone-age digital setup. Should my PC go up in smoke (as it literally has in the past), I can install my Steam games on another without any trouble. I can deactivate my PS3 in the unlikely even that I need to download my games to another one. Even Microsoft lets me transfer my licenses to a new Xbox 360. But with Nintendo, unless I have physical access to my 3DS as well as a new 3DS, I’m out of luck. I lose the system? Too bad, I’ve just lost all my games. It’s all the downsides of physical ownership combined with all of the downsides of digital ownership. It truly is the worst of both worlds.

That’s why I wasn’t happy Senran Kagura Burst’s eShop-only release. I did suck it up and buy it, but the problem was not Xseed or the idea of digital distribution, it was Nintendo. I will have no qualms about buying Shinovi Versus digitally because Sony’s online setup isn’t so virulently anti-consumer.

Aristides

Yay I don’t have to import anymore! XP

http://linkapics.tumblr.com/ Linka

I just wanna say, congrats, XSeed, and congrats Senran Kagura! I’m glad to hear the game was a success for them, even if it was digital-only in America.

Looking forward to hearing about SR2 and Shinovi Versus in the near future from them.

Monterossa

why it always the US that doesn’t get physical releases? not only Burst but many niche games from Japan keep doing this on PS3 too.

darke

Because physical costs money.

If the games don’t sell, there’s still a cost to produce, not to mention a cost associated with a game on a store shelf that doesn’t sell.

If game X from company Y doesn’t sell many copies resulting in them being returned to the manufacturer, the store isn’t going to want to stock game X+1 from company Y because “company Y’s games don’t sell”, plus the company also has to eat the cost of all the manufactured games they need to trash.

The more niche a game is, the less it is likely to sell to the general public (that is, people who buy a game off a store shelf), and the more likely it’s going to get a digital release.

Death Metal

I think he is asking why in US partircularly. In EU they usually get physical copies of the same game. Take Arcana Heart 3 for exemple: in US, only the PS3 version got ported (apparently it was thought of being “too niche” for the X360 market), and digital-only at that, probably for the reasons you mentioned. In EU, not only the PS3 got a physical release as well, but there was also an X360 physical release even. Are they just not worried about costs in EU, then? Or is the culture different to a point where niche is more socially accepted then in US? I’m from neither of these regions, so I can’t tell exactly.

darke

I have a foot in both worlds, relatively speaking (Australian), only thing I can think of is the “Walmart effect”, where anything that’s remotely risqué tends to not to get stocked in their stores because it has to be stocked in everything from the most puritanical area to the least.

ermikiss22

Can I ask what’s the relation of SK BURST to SK Shinobi versus on the vita. Is it the same game or a sequel to Burst?

leingod

It’s a spin-off, and a much, much better game IMHO. Instead of playing on a side-view like Burst, SV is fully 3D, playing more like a Dynasty Warriors game. It also has 2 new schools (10 new girls), is graphically superior, and girls can lose all their clothes if KO’d with specials :P

Arrei

Shinovi Versus is, as far as I know, canon and takes place after the events of Burst and features new characters from new schools, but while the main series is a side-scrolling beat’em up, Versus is a spinoff, like leingod said, a Dynasty Warriors styled musou game. Whether or not one can consider it a superior game is up to your feelings about the brawler and musou genres.

I just hope we get SV! I’m still eagerly awaiting for an announcement. Glad to know the series is doing well, though… I’ll keep supporting it in any way I can.

WhyWai

stop teasing~ give us SV and I’ll buy 2 copies!

leingod

I’ll be realistic and say I’ll buy just one :P … but very happily!

Arrei

Hell, I’d buy one and I don’t even own a Vita!

dark-kyon

at this point is not tease is the troll tease of shinovi versus ,well i not gonna keep getting trolled more.my japanese copy is flying to my house.

Kornelious

I just love there non-attempts at denial…”So if we do release….for example “Shinovi Versus” then yes we might make a physical edition. IF we decide to bring it over….because we haven’t yet…..it was just an example”
XD lol

CozyAndWarm

I’m gonna be pretty upset if SV gets a physical release when Burst didn’t. Hopefully when it comes time to localize Senran Kagura 2 in the US, it gets a publisher more like Zen United and less like XSEED. The series deserves better here imo.

Death Metal

I would like Majesco or Aksys better as well. Xseed has deliberately denied SV for too long now.

Duo Maxwell

“A physical release wouldn’t be out of the question for [Shinovi Versus] if we did it”

If you guys do it, increase the sale number by one from me.

Anesia Hunter

3 limited edition copies of Shinovi VS please.

ShawnOtakuSomething

Xseed is based

psycho_bandaid

Eh, for me the whole “no package, no buy thing” is based off the fact that I already have imported and beaten Shinovi Vs and I didn’t really want Burst all that badly. If you are going to put up money to support something I kinda need to stay interested. While I respect the financial realities these companies face, I am more sensitive to my own financial realities. Paying 30 to 40 dollars for something I only kind of want and/or already have played through so that maybe in the future I will get the chance to pay 30 – 40 dollars on something else doesn’t make sense. Its a bad situation all around, and I don’t fault xseed at all, but don’t be surprised when I am not on board with every game.

Prinny Dood

Just give me shinovi versus already dammit! Im mean dood!

Sylveria Shini

I call BS on the eShop being proof of market for retailers. Not when a company like Aksys is releasing stuff like the Hakudoki games physically, a genre that has a far smaller market than fanservicy beat-em-ups and when Xseed has their own online store.

Sorry but the attempt to bait me in to buying digital purely on faith that it’ll lead to physical releases down the line isn’t going to fly. Not on the eShop anyway.

Kotori Itsuka

wait, now I’m confused: In reply to a Facebook user asking if it would be possible for Senran Kagura Burst to see a limited physical release, an Xseed representative stated, “Unfortunately, no. Once a title is released as digital-only, we really can’t go back and make a physical version isn’t there already a physical release of burst? or is this about a limited edition version or something? I’ve already seen physical releases……sorry for being stupid, but this is kinda wtf to me…

Cristian

The physical release was Europe only. :p

Kotori Itsuka

Oh I see. But according to wikipedia, it’s also for the US. Idunno though. But I live in EU and i’ve never physical versions of the game in any store, only online on european sites

LuminousThreat

I just bought a copy for $35 on ebay to tide me over until it’s eventual, hopeful release! Soon… soon…

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